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@bobjordanAPP

Gov. Chris Christie said the return of service on three of NJ Transit’s rail lines Friday and expected full commuter bus service by Monday are signs that things are back on a track to normalcy in the state, just days after Hurricane Sandy left a path of destruction.

“Our job has moved from saving lives, now to rebuilding them, and we must work together to return New Jersey to normalcy as quickly as possible,’’ Christie said Thursday during a media briefing in Moonachie.

The number of homes and businesses without power stood Thursday at 1,783,000, down from 2,036,000 the night before, Christie said.

Christie said he told the CEOs of the state’s utilities to ramp up restoration efforts.

“I made it clear to them that whatever playbooks they have are going to be thrown out because we’ve never faced anything like this before,’’ he said.

The federal government will also help NJ Transit add more train service running. Christie said 25 percent of the rail cars were in flooded depots.

Eighty percent of bus service has resumed.

“We should be able to be at 100 percent by Monday when people get back to work in earnest,’’ Christie said.

The Republican governor said he took steps to allow for better access for responders and workers to shredded sections of Ocean County.

“I also directed New Jersey Natural Gas today to have the natural gas system turned off from Mantoloking to Island Beach State Park. As you may have seen in some of the news reports, there were frequent fires in that area, especially Mantoloking,’’ Christie said.

“Monday was a time for us to hunker down, the light of day Tuesday was a time for us to feel sad and sorrowful, Wednesday was to begin to plan, and Thursday was to start to act,” he said.

“Rebuilding, this will be the next phase after we deal with the immediate post-storm aftermath and return life to normalcy. I want to make clear this will be the longest phase of recovery. Working together I have absolute confidence that we’ll be able to rebuild those things that are so important to our state’s economy and so important to our state’s character,’’ he said.